Letter to Peter, on Saint François d'Assise by Olivier Messiaen
1992
1h 22m
In 1992, Olivier Messiaen's epic opera "Saint François d'Assise" was brought to the Salzburg Festival in a staging by Peter Sellars. The distinct visual appearance that Sellars lent to the opera, where video monitors with powerful images are used as a sort of high-tech metaphor for a cathedral's stained glass, drew critical acclaim and is still talked about as a watershed moment in opera to this day. This film here is a 75-minute documentary on the 1992 staging. Jean-Pierre Gorin filmed Sellars, baritone José van Dam (St. Francis) soprano Dawn Upshaw (The Angel), and the LA Philharmonic and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen as they rehearsed for the big day. There are interviews with these artists, though Sellars gets most of the screen time. The documentary is very much about Sellars' vision for Messiaen's theatrical drama. Very little is said about Messiaen's music.
CAST
Peter Sellars
Director
George Tsypin
Set Designer
Dunya Ramicova
Costume Designer
Details
Language
Budget
Not specified
Revenue
Not specified
Production
Companies
Not specified
Countries
Not specified
More Info
IN MY NETWORK
Ratings from people you follow will show up here when you sign up.
WATCH HISTORY
When you watch this movie, just log it and it will be added here. sign up to start logging!.
Movies, TV Shows & other metadata from the wonderful & amazing TMDb.